A shocking incident has emerged from a high-end hotel in Wisconsin, USA where a black man named Dvontaye Mitchell died after he was forcefully pinned to the ground by hotel security. The eyewitness recorded videos show multiple security guards pinning him down as he calls for help. This incident took place at the Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee on June 30. It is not clear what provoked a strong security response towards Dvontaye Mitchell. The videos of Dvontaye Mitchell’s assault are prompting comparisons to the 2020 killing of George Floyd, who died after a police officer pressed his knee to George Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes even as he pleaded with them to stop.
Dvontaye Mitchell’s mother told The Washington Post that he was suffering from mental health issues. She did not know why her son was at the hotel. Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer who is representing Mitchell’s family, told the media that a witness claimed that they saw one of the security men striking Dvontaye Mitchell’s head with an object. Ben Crump has asked the hotel to release security footage of the incident so they can learn more about what transpired that day.
So far, no one has been charged with Dvontaye Mitchell’s death even though the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said on July 1 that the preliminary cause of his death was ruled as homicide. A homicide is death at the hands of another ‘regardless of intent’. The Milwaukee district attorney’s office told The Washington Post on Tuesday that the matter was referred to their office and is “currently pending further investigation."
As per police records, the law enforcement was called at 3.20 pm on June 30. They were informed of a person “causing disturbance". When the police arrived, Dvontaye Mitchell was unresponsive. Despite the emergency “lifesaving measures", he died.
In one of the videos that has surfaced online, a security guard addresses a person who was recording the video, “This is what happens when you go into the ladies’ room." Crump said that even if Dvontaye Mitchell was inside the ladies room, it did not warrant a death sentence. He also urged other eyewitnesses to come forward with what they saw.
Dvontaye Mitchell’s younger brother Darrell Giles told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the circumstances of the former’s death reminded him of George Floyd. He said, “It’s like watching the video of George Floyd’s death. Everything about it reminds me of George Floyd."
After the videos of Dvontaye Mitchell’s death went viral, the Hyatt extended condolences to Dvontaye Mitchell’s loved ones and to the city of Milwaukee. A spokesperson for Hyatt told the media that all employees involved have been suspended.
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